"The Geography of Money"

Selasa, 28 Oktober 20080
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The traditional assumption holds that the territory of money coincidesprecisely with the political frontiers of each nation state: Francehas the franc, the United Kingdom has the pound, the United States hasthe dollar. But the disparity between that simple mental landscape andthe actual organization of currency spaces has grown in recent years,as territorial boundaries of individual states limit currencycirculation less and less. Many currencies are used outside their"home" country for transactions either between nations or withinforeign states. In this book, Benjamin J. Cohen asks what this newgeography of money reveals about financial and political power.Cohen shows how recent changes in the geography of money challengestate sovereignty.He examines the role of money and the scope ofcross-border currency competition in today's world. Drawing on newwork in geography and network theory to explain the new spatialorganization of monetary relations, Cohen suggests that internationalrelations, political as well as economic, are being dramaticallyreshaped by the increasing interpenetration of national monetaryspaces. This process, he explains, generates tensions and insecuritiesas well as opportunities for cooperation.